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Lowest Low
Prologue Ceer looked out over the flaming land from his helicopter. Planes were flying all around, dropping down the Atomic bombs all over the world. Gritting his teeth, he swore under his breath vigorously. “Nerity, fly toward Tierra de Fuego!” He commanded. The rest of his comrades were huddled in the back of the plane, tired, hungry, and out of morale. They had been severely outnumbered and injured. “Yes sir!” Nerity said, steering the helicopter in the alternate direction. Ceer went back to staring outside. He watched as what was Mexico was consumed by the flames. “Dang it…..if only we hadn’t admitted him!” Ceer spat, watching as the flames tore at the continents. As they flew over the Atlantic Ocean, he looked up at the sky, which was covered in ash. His eyes became blank, and he was thrown into a series of spasms. “General Ceer!” Sleet cried, grabbing him before he fell out of the plane. Sleet watched as Ceer’s eyes filled with a mixture of terror, fear, yet some hope. “I….saw the beginning. Nothing was left, yet there was still something!” Ceer exclaimed. The rest of his crew mates looked at him, and then they all nodded one by one. Ceer pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, and then stuck it outside of the helicopter. It immediately ignited in his hands. “Ignita….” He murmured under his breath. “….What sir?” Sleet asked his eyes full of worry. Ceer’s eyes were wild. He grabbed one of the few water bottles and chucked it into the flames below. “Aquain!” He shrieked. Tearing off one of his gloves, he dropped it into the ocean. “Fovea!” “Sir, please stop!” One of his crewmates said, rushing forward to try and restrain him. “These will be the names of the new places that will emerge. There is still Malum and Aeroa!” Ceer snarled, pushing his crewmate back. “We will be landing in Tierra de Fuego soon!” Nerity shouted from the cockpit. Ceer slammed the helicopter door shut. “Best that we are….” He murmured, still frazzled by the vision. As the helicopter began to land, he took one last look at South America, which was nothing more than some flaming coals. He sighed deeply, yet he still had hope. Ceer knew his vision was right, and that if it didn’t come true, then he didn’t know what else to believe. The helicopter slowly touched down onto the small island. Despite its name, it was quite cold there. “Good job General. This should be a safe spot,” Sleet said, zipping up his jumpsuit and throwing his jacket over it. Stepping out of the helicopter, Ceer felt the cool wind around him. He knew his crew would have to find shelter here. They were almost out of supplies, and had no Stamina Injections left. As his crewmates lifted the remaining supplies out of the helicopter, Ceer scanned the area, looking for any decent shelter place. This is not the end, but the beginning won’t come for a while….. Chapter 1 Enki sighed as she watched the Malum soldiers walk through the streets. Walking away from the window, she sat on her bed, and began to think, as she did often. Why did the United Forces just leave? They could have saved us from this! ''Her long, wavy, navy blue hair hung over her bed. It was common for the citizens of Aquain to have blue hair, since they lived so close to the sea. As far as she knew from her history a book, her territory was located in what used be Northern Australia, before the Fifth World War. “I wish……I wish I could have the courage to face the Malum soldiers,” She mumbled to herself. Enki knew she was special. Looking over at her turtle habitat that she had had for about two years, since she was ten, Enki carefully, slowly flicked her hand. As she did this, some of the water slowly splashed up. Her turtle, Necor, was used to this. He loved the feeling of the water slowly running down his back. A knock sounded at her door, breaking her concentration, she bounced up from her bed and opened it. “Enki, it’s time to go to the docks, get dressed,” Her father stated. Enki nodded solemnly, as her father closed the door. Deeply sighing, she closed the door and began to get dressed. As she slid her sky blue vest on, she began to wonder what the point was. The point of serving Malum for their whole lives. What made them so special? As she finished putting on her uniform, she hesitantly grabbed a small knife she kept by her bed. “Come on, Enki!” She heard her father call from downstairs. Tucking the knife in one of her vest pockets, she tore out the door and leapt down the stairs. “Ready,” She said, stepping outside where her father was. As they walked down the stone and sand street, Enki could see the Malum Soldiers helping themselves to local fishermen’s goods, at no charge. She almost reached for her knife, but quickly stopped herself, knowing she would be instantly killed. “We will be diving for carp today,” Her father said, his cigarette moving up and down as he talked. “I brought you a spear; I think you’re ready for it,” “Thanks Dad!” Enki exclaimed excitedly. It was a sign of responsibility in Aquain to be able to use a spear when fishing. As they arrived at the docks, she noticed their seemed to be more Malum Soldiers around. They were surveying the sea, obviously looking for something. Enki’s dad turned toward them. “Looking for something?” He asked. He had always tried to keep good relations with the guards, no matter how hard it seemed. One of the guards stood up. “Yeah. Some scumbag threw some stolen goods down there, and it’s too deep to even see down there. If we don’t get those goods, we could get in some serious trouble,” The guard explained, sounding sincerely worried. Enki stepped forward. “I’ll fetch them,” She stated, determination glittering in her eyes. The other guards looked up at her from their spots and laughed. The guard in front of them buckled down in laughter, almost falling into the salty ocean. “I’d give you five-thousand dollars if you did that!” He stated, still laughing. “That’s how sure I am that you can’t do it, little girl,” “Just watch,” Enki said. She walked simply over to the dock. Positioning herself, she quickly dived in, her body completely straight. The water splashed around her, but she ignored it. ''If this guard will really give us five thousand dollars, that could feed everyone in the house for at least five months! She thought to herself, as she swam deeper and deeper, everything seemed to be getting darker. They were right; it is really deep under here! ''Looking around furiously, she felt no strain on her lungs. Since she had figured out her water power, she had also figured out that she could breathe underwater. Enki had been able to use this to her advantage multiple times. As she carefully swam deeper, she felt the pressure kicking in, and the water was getting colder and colder. It was also getting harder to keep going down, and she kept feeling herself getting pulled back up to the surface. Grabbing the knife in her pocket, she stuck it in the whole of coral in front of her, so she was doing more of a mountain climber thing. It had been about two minutes at that time, and most people believed she could hold her breath for five minutes. As she continued going deeper, she felt the seafloor on her boots. Acting quickly, she bounced off the wall and stuck her knife into the sea floor. Feeling her hand around, she felt a lumpy object. Swimming over it, she pulled up hard on it. Slowly, the supplies came out from being stuck to the sea floor. ''Whoa, their heavy! She thought to herself. She slowly dragged herself up from the bottom, the pressure loosening. The water got lighter and lighter, and eventually she could see the sky reflected through the water. She broke out from the sea, pretending to pant and be exhausted from the ordeal. “S-S-She did it…….,” One of the soldiers murmured. Everyone’s eyes were filled with shock. Enki’s father smiled. “A good man keeps his bet, remember?” He said. The head soldier growled, and then pulled out five thousand dollars. Enki handed the supplies over, which the soldiers took grudgingly. As the soldiers walked away, her father looked down at Enki. “I knew you had it in you!” He exclaimed, clearly proud. “Now let’s go get some carp!” “Okay dad,” Enki said, obviously slightly embarrassed by the whole thing. For the rest of the day, her father and her speared for carp. Since carp were extremely slow, and tended to swim more near the top, they were rather easy to catch. By the end of the day, they had caught more the sixty carp. As they loaded their catches into a wheelbarrow, Enki glanced one more time back over the ocean. She knew from her studies that more territories were out there. One day, she would go see all of them, and Malum wouldn’t hold her back. As her father and her walked back to her house, she continued to gaze at all the Malum Soldiers destroying life for everyone. Someone has to do something, and I can’t do it with just my water powers. Maybe tonight, I should sneak out to train again. '' Chapter 2 Enki watched from her window for an opportunity. The Malum Soldiers were beginning to file back into their luxury bunkers. She heard they actually had heated showers in their bunkers, and she longed for the day she could sneak into there. Slowly getting up from her bed, she opened up her window. Carefully stepping out, making sure not to make any ominous sounds, she carefully began to slide down. Once she got to the end, she jumped off and landed neatly in the soft grass. Looking around, she dashed into the forest, jumping over every obstacle in her path. Enki knew every obstacle; she had been coming here almost every night since she was eight years old. As the trees turned into blurs around her she made a sharp turn, jumping over a large patch of poison ivy. She had fallen for that the first couple of times she had come, but now, she didn’t even have to put any effort in it. Soon, Enki slowed to a fast jog, gracefully leaping over rocks and dodging large vines. Finally, she slowed to a walk and carefully snuck into a large cave. As she walked deeper and deeper into the cave, a strange light began to glow at the end of the cave. She knew what this was, and continued walking, not affected by the pale blue light at all. Enki finally reached the end, where she found the same old pale blue watery pool. Carefully concentrating her power, she slowly began to flick both her hands. Two large swirls of water rose up from the pool. Concentrating hard, Enki slowly made them blend together then shot them toward the wall in front of her. Sitting down, on the cave floor, she suddenly felt very tired. “I guess that swim took more out of me then I thought,” She murmured to herself. Slumping against the cave wall, she slowly drifted off into sleep. “Enki, wake up…” A spirit like voice said. Enki slowly opened her eyes. A tall man with pale white hair spiked up like a porcupine was staring down at her. “Who….Who are you…?” She mumbled, still thinking she was asleep. “I’m Ceer. I was the general of the United Forces,” He said, a sad tone in his voice. Enki’s eyes filled with anger and hate. “''You’re the one who abandoned the continents when they were about to be destroyed and disappeared off the face of the earth?” Enki snarled, shooting up. “It wasn’t like that at all….” Ceer said, his voice drifting off. “But you are the one who will make this all right,” “So I’m supposed to face at least one million soldiers with only my crappy water powers?” Enki ranted. “You won’t have to do this alone. You will have four others to help you,” Ceer explained. “Do they all have water powers?” She demanded. Ceer sighed. “No,” Ceer stated. “There is one from each territory, each having three unique traits setting them apart from the rest. For example, you will be traveling to Fovea next. There, you must find one who can control the rock, and seems to always get his way.” Ceer touched his finger to the water. A young boy, no older than 15 appeared in the water. His dark brown hair was slightly slicked back, and he was obviously rolling his eyes. “So I’m supposed to sneak past tons of guards, and fly there, land, uncaught?” Enki demanded. “Yeah, totally out of the picture!” “You can swim, can’t you?” Ceer asked. “You have plenty of stamina, and the water isn’t to deep,” “What do I do when I get to Fovea? Find this boy, and go up to him and say ‘Hey, come with me! We are both going to save the world!’” Enki asked furiously. “Yeah, he’ll think I need to go to a psychiatric hospital!” Ceer shook his head. “You’ll know when the time is right….” He said, he began to fade away. Once he was completely gone, Enki stared into the pool, the boys brown eyes burned in her memory. “Should I listen?” Enki asked herself out loud. Turning away from the pool, she ran out of the cave, faster than she had ever before. Dodging everything in her path, she sprinted through the forest. Looking toward the docks, none of the soldiers were there. Picking up her pace, she sprinted straight ahead, passing her house, jumping on street vendors rooftops. Soon she got to the dock where she had fetched the supplies from the bottom and caught carp. With no hesitation, she leapt off the dock. As she flew through the air, Enki glanced down at the water below. She moved her hands around and gracefully landed on a whirlpool, and she began to head north. “From what I know from my studies, Fovea was what was North-East Russia,” She muttered to herself. “Better expect the cold!” Chapter 3 Enki looked up from the water and saw a large land mass in the distance. The water had been getting colder, and there had been more icebergs around. Leaping up from her little whirlpool, she landed on an iceberg. She looked out toward the land mass. She could hear the dynamite booms from the mines from the iceberg. Enki dived into the water, deciding that is would be best to try and find a secure spot to get out, away from any soldiers. As she swam underwater, she realized what big of a risk she was taking. Soldiers could see her blue hair, and assume she was from Aquian. The mission would be ruined, and over. She could even be killed, or tortured for info, not to mention have tests run on her to see how she got so far so quickly. This all sent a shiver up her spine. As she bobbed up to see where she was at, she found herself in front of a large, snowy mountain. Looking around, she hesitantly climbed out of the water. “Wow, this looks much bigger then Aquain,”She mumbled to herself. Suddenly, she heard voices in the distance. Enki heaved herself onto a nearby tree and scrambled up. Peering over a branch, she watched as a group of adults walked under her, followed by a group of teens. “Okay. When we get to the mines, we’re going to take five soldier captives. Kill anyone that comes within ten feet of you,” One of the adults said. “Ki, you will stay back, to keep watch.” A young brown haired boy in an army green jacket nodded. “There he is!” Enki whispered to herself excitedly. The adults continued to tell the teens orders. That’s right; Fovea is one of the most troublesome territories. She thought to herself. Soon, the rest of the people ran away, leaving Ki standing there. Ki turned around to stare up at the tree Enki was in. “I know you’re in there, and don’t try and play Hide and Seek with me,” Ki stated simply. Enki hesitantly jumped down from the tree. “I can tell from your blue hair you are from Aquain, what are you doing here?” He asked. “H-How did you see me?” Enki asked, astonished at the boys intelligence. “Easy, I saw you scramble up that tree. How did you get here?” Ki asked, sounding more and more demanding. Enki wasn’t sure what to say. His brown eyes stared at her, obviously not giving up on the question. “I swam….kinda,” Enki stammered, still uneasy. Suddenly gaining up courage, she returned his look. “You…have rock powers,” Ki’s eyes widened for a second, the narrowed. Carefully reaching in his backpack around his back, he pulled out a large mace. “How did you know?” He demanded. “Are you a spy from Malum?” Enki stepped back a bit, filled with fear and shock. “C-C-Ceer,” She mumbled. “General Ceer, the general of the United Forces. He came to me last night, while I was out training. He told me to find you; he told me your power!” She stammered in fear. “Why would he send you?” Ki asked, glaring at her, his eyes little slits. “Because I can control the water!” Enki said. Desperately, she looked around for a puddle. Catching a glance of a small one, she stretched her hand out toward it. The water slowly flowed up, and wrapped around her hands. Ki stepped back, then lowered his mace. “Fine, I believe you,” Ki snarled, obviously enraged by this whole experience. “But what are we supposed to do next?” “Ceer said that, we would have to find the others, one from each country, like us,” Enki stammered. Ki was looking at the ground, in deep thought. “I’ll help you on one condition. You help me with the plan. I know you heard it,” Ki said, smirking. Enki hesitantly nodded. “Alright, but I’ve made some altercations. Instead of just standing here, we are going to charge headstrong toward the enemy. Then, we will combine our powers, my rock with your water, and create a mud pit to trap the soldiers in. After that, we can either freeze the mud, to hold them in place, or warm it, make them slide around, unable to do anything. We make that decision once we get there, so we can look at our resources,” Ki explained quickly. Enki nodded through the whole thing. “Okay, I got it,” She said. Wow, he’s a good war strategist, he will make a useful asset on the journey. Let’s just hope this works! “’Kay, let’s go!” Ki shouted. He began to dash toward a large rock formation. Enki scrambled to start running. As she caught up to Ki, she realized he wasn’t really running. He was sending rocks to make a wave like formation, like a sand castle. Catching up, Enki looked for water to manipulate. “Ki, how will I be able to use my water? There isn’t any around here!” Enki asked. “Simple. Find the moisture in the air, and once we get to the mine, there will be plenty of flames to melt the snow!” Ki responded. “Don’t worry, I’ve been there plenty of times!” “I just hope this plan works!” Enki called back. Enki looked up from the ground, watching the rock formation. She could see the outline of the soldiers from her spot, getting closer and closer. “Come on! Give it up and we might leave you a limb to live with!” One of the soldiers shouted toward the rebels. “Release them!” “NOW!” Ki shouted at the top of his lungs. The soldiers spun around, then turned their attention toward Enki and Ki. Ki stopped, and jumped in front of the soldiers. “Surrender, you idiot!” One of the soldiers snarled. “Okay, I surrender,” Ki said, beginning to raise his arms. “Now that’s a good kid….” The soldier said, stepping toward Ki. As Ki raised his arms, the ground the soldiers were standing on began to rise. Ki concentrated mainly on the ground, continuing to raise his arms. He then dropped to the ground, and the ground, with the soldiers, went at least ten feet underground. Enki heard the soldiers start shouting insults and explicit words. “Now Enki! Get the water and put it in the hole!” Ki shouted out. “I can’t hold it for this long!” Enki looked closely at the air, looking for the water. Breathing, she stretched out her hands, and then pushed them toward the ground. All at once, all the water, from ever y puddle, cloud, and water bottle seemed to go into the hole. Enki was alarmed at her own power, as she watched the water rush in like a waterfall. Ki stood up, and clapped his hands together, sealing the hole. “What….What did I just do?” Enki asked, in awe of her power. “You, just saved Fovea, and took care of all the guards here for the time being,” Ki said, panting from battle. “Good job, but what do we do now?” “I….don’t know,” Enki panted. “I assume we should go find the next one to help us, but I guess we should wait for Ceer first. He visited me where I usually trained at night. Do you have anywhere you train?” Enki asked. “Yes. Right in that mine, actually. I created most of the shafts, but nobody knows that,” Ki said slyly. “Should we go to where I train?” “That would be the best plan,” Enki nodded. “You lead the way!” Ki walked past the other adults and teens, who were gaping at them. Ki took out a match from his backpack, rubbed it against a cave wall, and the match ignited. “The soldiers are too scared to go in here, so we are able to write battle plans and rants on the mine walls as we work. This is where that rebellion plan emerged. It’s been being chipped away at for more than five years,” Ki explained. Enki looked at the walls. She saw words and insults about the soldiers, as well as crude drawings showing the unfairness of them. “I wish we could have places like these back in Aquian. All we can do is write our rants on stones and throw them into the sea, or sometimes write them under docks,” Enki said back. “Or sometimes just write them on a piece of paper, and throw it away before the soldiers loot our house.” They continued walking, as the mine got darker and darker. The exact opposite of my cave in Aquain. ''She thought to herself. Pretty soon, Ki stopped, and pulled another match out of his bag, also taking out an empty lantern, which contained a block of wood. Striking the match against the mine wall again, he dropped it into the lantern. Light engulfed the mine shaft, and Enki was surprised at how big the mine actually was. “Here we are. I’ve been training here since I was ten, when I first learned of my powers. Even though I didn’t use it back there, I can also stop time, but only for as long as I can hold my breath,” Ki said, obviously filled with memories from this mine “I can breathe underwater,” Enki replied. Ki looked at the roof of the mine. The lantern tipped over, and a gust of wind came in from nowhere. The wind blew through the mine, scattering dirt on the ground. “We’re extremely deep in this mine! How is this happening?” Ki exclaimed in shock. “Wait, this might be a sign!” Enki said. “Wind…..could it be the next one we are supposed to find?” The flames from that lantern burned intensely. The flames burst out from the lantern, and lapped at the dirt. Ki then looked closer into the flames. “Their! There is the next one!” He exclaimed joyfully. Enki stepped beside him. In the flames was a boy about the same age as Ki, who had spikey white hair, which hung in his gray eyes. “White hair….usually people from Aeroa has white hair!” Enki exclaimed. “That’s really close to here, right?” Ki nodded. “Right, it’s only about two-hundred miles from here,” Ki said. “We should reach there in no time! Chapter Four Ki loaded the last of his ration bars in his backpack. His parents nodded to him and Enki. “Be safe!” Ki’s father said. “We believe in both of you!” “Thank you!” Ki and Enki called out at once. They both walked out the door at headed toward the eastern part of the island. “Ready?” Ki asked Enki. “There will be more icebergs then the way you came here. “I’m ready,” Enki said, sure of herself. Carefully concentrating, Enki created a slightly bigger wave then the one she came on, and hopped onto one of the icy spots. Ki leapt and landed straight at the top. “Let’s go!” And Enki began to move the wave forward. Water splashed up next to them. “At this rate, we’ll be reaching Aeroa in less than half an hour!” Ki called out from the back. “In Aeroa, there are many wind storms, but the citizens of there have grown use to it!” “So the only thing we should worry about is getting attacked?” Enki asked. “Not likely! Aeroa is a very peaceful place. Not many soldiers even bother going there, so we shouldn’t be caught!” Ki exclaimed. “It’s one of the safest territories.” “Let’s just hope so!” Enki said, her eyes fixed on the water. Maneuvering her the wave out of the way of a large iceberg, she continued to think to herself. ''What if five isn’t enough to handle all of Malum? Even though we have these powers, we don’t know what King Sargon has in store. “King Sargon almost never sends patrols to that territory. Stop worrying so much!” Ki said, slightly teasingly. “Yes, but we never know. Times can change if they catch wind of what we did in Fovea yesterday!” Enki persisted. “I’m just kinda scared,” “No need to be. As long as we find the next one to help us, we’ll be fine!” Ki replied, stretching his muscles. After they sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, Enki looked up at the land ahead of her. “There’s Aeroa!” Ki sat up slowly, yawning. “Let’s move!” He exclaimed. The territory drew closer and closer. “We should probably get swimming, so the local citizens don’t get suspicious!” Enki shouted. She hopped off the wave, dove down into the ocean, and popped back up. Ki followed her, neatly landing next to her. They began to doggy paddle toward the land. The water wasn’t as cold as they had expected, and it was rather warm. In less than five minutes, they were right in front of the land. Enki took grip of a rock, and began to climb up toward the city. Ki followed her, and eventually passed her. “That’s unfair! You can control rock!” Enki said, laughing. “Not so loud,” Ki mumbled. “We have to keep our cover.” Enki nodded, scrambling up the rocks. “I’m surprised these rocks aren’t that slippery from being so close to the sea!” Enki commented, feeling the rocks. “Usually rocks this close to water would have seaweed and algae all over them, or be really wet.” “Maybe this is a special kind of rock. I haven’t seen any rocks like these back home, and there were a lot of different kinds of rock back home!” Ki joked. “I thought I knew all about water! There was a lot of that in Aquian!” Enki retorted jokingly. As they began to reach the top, the air got warmer and warmer. “This is getting way to strange,” Enki said as Ki pulled himself over the edge. Enki slowly reached the summit, and struggled to the edge. “Whoa….” Enki marveled. The houses were ginormous, and almost seemed to break through the sky. “How are we going to find the other one? There are too many houses!” “I don’t know…..” Ki murmured, clearly upset. “How could a territory have so much wealth? This is just too weird……” Enki began to walk toward the large city. As she entered the city, she noticed people had black hair, instead of white. She backed out quickly, and ducked behind the wall outside. “Ki! Malum must have taken over the island or something!” Enki exclaimed, suddenly terrified. “I knew it was to strange!” Ki whispered angrily. “Perhaps go around the city, and see if there is anything there.” “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Enki agreed, standing up, nodding. “Maybe there is a poor district where all the true Aeroa citizens are,” They both began to walk silently and stealthily past the walls. Enki peered over down. “It looks like the wall ends somewhere down there. Maybe that’s where the Aeroa district begins!” They picked up the pace, and were eventually sprinting, trying to reach the end as soon as possible. “What’s your guess on the next person’s power?” Ki asked Enki. “I think it might be wind, or possibly ice. They might be able to travel at super speed or something as well,” Enki replied. “That’s a good guess. This climate would be ideal for someone with a wind power,” Ki responded. “Cool temperatures, plenty of wind, and possibly a plain of some sort. The speed thing I’m a bit unsure about. It just doesn’t seem fitting….” “There’s the end of the wall, let’s check it out!” Enki said, changing the subject. “I hope the whole place hasn’t been conquered by Malum citizens!” As the wall ended, Ki and Enki looked past the unshielded place. There lay a small village of little mud like huts. “They…they have it the worst of us all!” Ki said in shock. “This isn’t like anything I’ve heard at all!” “Same here. I thought Aeroa citizens had it all, but it turns out they have almost nothing,” Enki gaped. She slowly began to walk toward the village. There was a large wall dividing the Malum city from the Aeroa village. Ki hesitantly followed Enki, still unsure whether this would be Aeroa citizens here. “You two, what are you doing here?” A voice said from their left. Turning their heads, Enki and Ki saw a man with white hair bushed up in a ponytail, wearing a snow white vest. “I can tell you two are from Aquain and Fovea, so what are you doing here?” “We extinguished soldiers in Fovea, together. Now we came here, for reasons we won’t reveal yet. I’ll we’re saying, is that we need to find a certain someone,” Ki stated, stepping forward. “How did you get here? Why should I believe that you killed all the soldiers based in Fovea?” The man continued. “We will explain this later. Right now, we just need to find someone exceptionally strong in a…gifted way,” Ki continued. “Well, the best warrior in all of Aeroa, Darigan, could definitely help you out,” The man continued. Ki and Enki looked at each other, and then nodded. “May we see him?” Enki asked politely. “He may be the one we are looking for,” The man nodded. “I will lead you to him,” The man said. “My name is Tome,” “I’m Enki. I’m from Aquain, and went to Fovea and found Ki here,” Enki said. Tome nodded. “How did this all happen? I have never heard of Malum taking over a whole territory for themselves before!” Tome looked away. They began walking to a group of huts. “It started when they stopped sending soldiers, and starting sending regular people, or so we thought. It just seemed they wanted to be friendly, and help our nation become prosperous. It was like that for about three months. But then……” Tomes voice sadly drifted off. “What happened?” Ki asked, absorbed in the story. “The Night of the Red Wind. The regular people turned out to be assassins. They killed half of our people, and forced us onto this tiny patch of land. Soon after that, those big buildings came, and everything pretty much went downhill from there,” Tome explained, deep sadness in his voice. They came to a hut slightly larger than the rest. “This is our leader’s hut. Darigan is his son.” Tome walked in. Enki and Ki followed. “Tome. Why do you bring these outsiders here?” The leader questioned. Tome bowed immediately. “Sire. They claim they come from Aquain and Fovea, saying they killed all the guards in Fovea,” Tome explained, his head bowed. “What will the people of Aeroa have to gain from this? This will only bring more of Malum here!” The leader said disapprovingly. “They claim that if they receive someone strong, it would greatly help their mission,” Tome said. “These outsiders don’t belong them. They could be Malum spies, hired from their respective countries to come and kill the rest of us!” A white haired boy with dark purple streaks in his hair snarled. “I say we kill them now, or at least get the information that we need out of them!” Enki and Ki stepped back. “We don’t mean any harm to this land, we just need to talk to someone exceptionally strong,” Ki explained. “They obviously don’t want to do anything bad, dad,” A voice on the left side of the leader said. “Just find them what they want and we can all move on with our lives,” Enki looked at who was talking. His white hair shone in the dim lighting, and his gray eyes looked bored and tired. “What about him, the one on your left side?” Enki asked. “He looks very strong,” The leader laughed. “Enlil? No. He doesn’t have the motivation to even train!” The leader said. “My son, Darigan, is a much better choice. He once beat down ten Malum soldiers after they tried to rob another’s house. He is the bravest Aeroa has to offer!” “Cool it dad. I’ll talk with them, about whatever they want,” Enlil said, clearly bored. He got up and walked outside. Turning around, he looked at Enki and Ki. “Come on; let’s fine somewhere private to talk. I know a place,” He began to walk off toward an open plain. Enki and Kai dashed after him. As they continued to walk, the plain grass started to get bigger and thicker. “So, where exactly are we going?” Enki asked. She was slightly nervous at how the grass was turning out. “Somewhere extremely private. You two obviously come here for important reasons. Reasons that should be discussed in private no matter what,” Enlil replied. The dirt was beginning to become mud, and the grass was almost up to Enki’s shoulder. “Are you sure it’s safe to be out in this kind of environment?” Ki asked. “Relax; I’ve been out here plenty of times. Mainly to train, but don’t tell my dad that,” Enlil stated, as he continued walking like nothing was wrong. “I just need to keep him thinking I’m a slacker, so he won’t bug me like he bugs Darigan,” “But don’t you want your dad to think you’re strong, and not just some little weakling?” Ki questioned. “Why just pretend that you have no talent?” “Because, I don’t want to be bothered by all this stuff that my dad keeps talking about. It’s not as bad as everyone makes it sound and look,” Enlil explained. “We get food, we get homes, we get freedom, that’s all I need.” “I see now…” Enki said. Enlil nodded solemnly. All of a sudden, the tall grass and muck faded, and they found themselves in a slight slope in the ground, where it was as solid as a rock. “Here we are. This is where I usually train,” Enlil explained, sitting down on the soft grass. “It’s easy to listen to the wind, and you can watch the stars when it’s nighttime,” Enki and Ki glanced at each other. “There they are!” A male voice in the distance shouted out. Enki shot up and peered through the tall grass. A small group of Malum soldiers, being led by a familiar white and purple-haired person, were standing in front of the tall grass, staring right in their direction. “Oh…my….god…” Ki gasped. Enlil obviously recognized the voice. Leaping up, he jumped out from the slope and landed neatly in the grass. “Darigan! You traitor!” Enlil growled, his eyes narrowed into small slits. “What is the meaning of this?” Darigan laughed. “I’ve been in an agreement with Malum for a long time. I get a high place in the Military ranks, and all I have to do is find outsiders and those helping them,” Darigan explained, a wide smirk on his face. “Of course, I’ll have to kill you, now that you know about it,” Enki and Ki leapt up, both landing gracefully beside Enlil. “You can’t take all of us on,” Ki snarled. “Just watch me,” Darigan snickered. Reaching back, he grabbed a long sword. “Come at me, brother,” Enlil charged at Darigan. “Darigan will rip him to pieces!” One of the soldiers jeered. “This kid doesn’t stand a chance!” Another one laughed. “Five bucks this kid won’t last three minutes!” Enlil’s eyes showed no fear. Darigan smiled as Enlil continued charging toward him. Picking up his sword, Darigan swung with all his power at Enlil. A huge amount of dirt flew around, blinding most of them. One of the guards began to laugh. “That kid must be finished after that blow. There’s no way he could have dodged that!” One soldier said. As the dust cleared, everyone looked at what had happened. “He did it!” Enki exclaimed joyfully. Enlil had blocked the blow with a single finger, no effort or pain in his eyes. Darigan stood there in shock. “What…?” He stammered in disbelief. “How did you get so….” Enlil smirked. “You really believed I was that much of a slacker? I knew you were too brawny for brains!” Enlil said, slightly laughingly, then disappeared. “What the….?” One of the soldiers said, looking around. “Where did he go?” Enlil appeared behind them. “Right behind you, oh smart ones,” Enlil stretched out his hands. A small gust of wind blew past them. After a few seconds of silence, a larger wind came. Ki and Enki dropped to the ground. “What are you doing, brother?” Darigan asked demandingly. The wind picked up even more, and Darigan stabbed his sword in the ground just so he wouldn’t be blown away. Enlil bent his finger so it pointed toward the soldiers. Instantly, a large, twisting tornado appeared behind Enlil. Dodging to the side, he shouted something to Ki and Enki. “What did he say?” Enki asked Ki. “I think he said ‘Get out of the way!’” Ki answered. “We have to get to safer ground!” Ki grabbed Enki’s wrist, and they dived into the tall grass. Both of them peered out from between blades of grass, watching the scene unflold. The soldiers had already been sucked up by the twister, and Darigan was holding onto his long sword, his grip beginning to slip. “Brother! Please! I know I’ve done some horrible things, but I can make it up! I’ll help you guys with whatever you’re trying to accomplish!” Darigan pleaded desperately. “Just please don’t let me die!” “You’ve betrayed our peoples trust to Malum, and have killed countless innocent people just for the fun of it!” Enlil shouted with fury. His eyes began to glow a pale gray. “You expect me to forgive this tyranny?! You should be ashamed to call yourself an Aeroan! We are a peaceful people, but you are a monster!” “Brother! Please!” Darigan cried out. “Be merciful!” “Like you showed all those other people mercy?” Enlil shouted. The tornado strengthened, and started to pull up the tall grass. Darigan began to lose his grip on his swords hilt. “NO!” Darigan screamed as he let go of the long sword. He flew into the tornado, his cries fading, consumed by the tornado’s sounds. Enlil pushed his hand out, and the tornado slowly began to hover out toward the ocean. Enki and Ki got up, watching the tornado fade away. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” Enlil sighed, nodding slightly. His eyes lost their glow and returned to their normal state. “It’s alright,” murmured Ki. “Anyways…..we need to go back to that training ground,” Enlil gave Ki and Enki a look. “What’s the point of going back there?” Enlil asked, a look of suspicion crossing his face. “Because. You’re one of the ones we are supposed to find. Enki got the message first, back in Aquian, and then she came and found me in Fovea. So now, we have you, from Aeroa,” Ki explained. “Enki can control water, and also breathe underwater. I can control rock, and stop time,” Disbelief clouded Enlil’s face. “How did you know where to find Ki?” Enlil asked, turning to Enki. “General Ceer. He was the old General of the United Forces. He visited me in my training grounds, and showed me Ki through a pool,” Enki explained vigorously. “Once I found Ki, we went to his training grounds, and there we saw your face,” Enlil slowly nodded. “Alright. I believe you, to an extent,” Enlil walked past them. Enki and Ki exchanged a look, and then hesitantly followed him. As they walked through what remained of the tall grass, Enki looked toward where the tornado had headed. She wondered if it had stopped at the ocean, or was going at that second. Slightly zoning out, Enki began to think about Darigan’s movements before he was sucked into the tornado. Before she could make a comment, she tripped over a log, falling straight into the mud. “Agh!” She grunted, pulling herself up. “Whoa!” Enki exclaimed, looking at the imprint she had made when she had fallen. Ki and Enlil looked back, then noticed the imprint as well. “Ignita…” Ki murmured. Where Enki had landed, a pool of muddy water filled the hole. In the puddle was the face of a young boy, at least eight. He had slightly long orange hair and golden eyes. “So, this little kid is supposed to help us! It looks like he isn’t even old enough to dress himself!” Enlil. “Regardless, if he is to help us, then we need to find him,” Ki stated. “We should get the move on, if we want to find him. I’m sure Malum our pattern by now, and they’re bound to send hundreds of soldiers there. “Yeah, but there’s three of us now!” Enki exclaimed. “They can’t beat three of us!” “We better hope so…” Ki sighed, closing his eyes for a second. Chapter Five Enki looked out over the large ocean, looking at the blue sea and the waves lap against the shore. “We can’t use the waves to get to Ignita, since there is no ice.” “We could just use my rock,” Ki suggested. “Or, we could use my teleportation power,” Enlil growled. “I can group teleport, as long as they’re in ten feet of me, and I have the will for them to come.” “Oh…that’s a lot better idea,” Enki stammered, blushing heavily. Enlil sighed, a look of annoyance crossing his face. “Ready?” “…Yeah,” Ki said. Enlil raised his hands, then flattened his right hand and made his left into a fist. He hit his right hand against the top of his left hand, and they all disappeared from sight. Enki’s eyes were shut the whole time. “Please let it be over soon…!” Enki gritted her teeth, sweating excessively. Suddenly, she felt her feet touch ground. Opening her eyes, she was in a rocky, hot climate. “Is this…Ignita?” “Should be,” Enlil stated simply. Enki glanced around. "But....we've been told Ignita full of people, all over the whole land! Where are they?" Enki exclaimed.